1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a mounting and drainage system for prefabricated building panels and, more particularly, to a system for mounting prefabricated building panels onto a building structure and a system for collecting and draining water such as condensation from between the prefabricated building panels and the building.
2. Background Description
Prefabricated building panels are widely used in the construction of buildings, both small and large. These prefabricated building panels are commonly constructed from a number of materials and most preferably concrete. However, when using concrete to fabricate these panels, it is customary to use reinforced concrete in order to provide rigidity and strength to the concrete panels. It is common practice to use wire mesh for the reinforcement of the concrete panels, and to mount the concrete panels to a framing system which includes vertically aligned studs and upper and lower horizontal tracks connected to the vertically aligned studs.
The prefabricated building panels are mounted to a building structure by bolts or welding. However, in order to mount the prefabricated building panels onto a building structure, a crane must first position the panel in its proper location with relation to the building structure, itself The crane must then hold the prefabricated building panel in place while the panels are bolted or welded to the building structure. Typically, the bolting of the prefabricated building panels to the building occurs at a stud of the frame of the prefabricated building panel and the flooring system of the building structure. On the other hand, when welding is used the welding must be performed from both above and below a weld plate attached to the stud. This further delays the mounting of the panel to the building since a welder must perform the weld, including moving all of the welding equipment, from an upper floor to a lower floor level or using two welders and operators.
The bolting or welding procedure is one of the most difficult and time consuming tasks of mounting the prefabricated building panel to the building structure. This is because the prefabricated building panel must be first manually aligned onto the building structure while the prefabricated building panel is on the crane. Once properly aligned, the prefabricated building panel must then be bolted at various places on the studs to the building structure, while maintaining the proper alignment between the prefabricated building panels and building structure. In the case of welding, the welding must be performed on both an upper and lower level (as discussed above). Accordingly, the crane must be used to hold the prefabricated building panel until it is properly bolted or welded to the building structure, and thus cannot be used for other purposes. As can be imagined, this system for mounting the prefabricated building panels to the building structure is thus both time consuming and labor intensive, and an inefficient use of heavy machinery (e.g., crane) at the building site.
Once the panels are properly mounted, water such as condensation may begin to accumulate between the back surface of the panels and the building structure itself. This is a recently discovered phenomenon, and one which has only been recognized since the water accumulation is otherwise unseen during inspection or during construction of the building. This condensation may damage insulation and drywall on the interior of the building. This will also happen when the caulking between the adjacent panels begins to fail. It is also known that some materials, due to their porosity, may also permit condensation to occur. It is not uncommon for the condensation to penetrate the insulation and damage the interior of the building.
Accordingly, what is needed is an efficient temporary mounting system for mounting prefabricated building panels to buildings. What is further needed is a drainage system in order to prevent the accumulation of condensation between the interior building structure and the prefabricated building panels.